Fire personnel blame erotic fiction like the bestseller "Fifty Shades of Grey" for the increased number of incidents where people are trapped in handcuffs.
The London Fire Brigade has raised concerns over unnecessary callouts which can be avoided by using some common sense. Each callout costs taxpayers at least $440, which has added up to more than $570,000 since 2010. The Brigade reported over 1,300 incidents involving people trapped in daily household items.
The London Fire Brigade said that it was called out 79 times for people trapped in handcuffs in the last three years. The brigade blames erotic fictions like the bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey for bringing out people's sexual fantasies.
"I don't know whether it's the Fifty Shades effect, but the number of incidents involving items like handcuffs seems to have gone up. I'm sure most people will be fifty shades of red by the time our crews arrive to free them," third officer Dave Brown, said in a statement.
Brown urged people to use the emergency call out when in need of genuine help rather than instances, which can be avoided with some usual sense. The fire crew responds to any emergency within minutes, incidents like these delay sending help to more urgent situations. According to the capital's fire crews, in the last three years people have called out for help in 18 situations for children with their heads stuck in toilet seats, five situations with people's hands stuck in shredders, 79 incidents of people trapped in handcuffs, nine incidents of men with rings stuck on their penises, four incidents of people's head stuck in blenders and 17 incidents of children's fingers stuck in toys.
The brigade also noted the most common type of avoidable incident was attending calls where people have rings stuck on their fingers. Nearly 500 call-outs have been made for such situations over the last three years.
The brigade listed some tips to avoid such incidents and reduce the number of unnecessary call outs and the costs involved.
-Common sense is needed - if it doesn't look safe, it probably isn't, so don't do it!
-If you use handcuffs, always keep the keys handy.
-Fingers and electrical appliances don't mix, especially those with blades.
